Automatic protector against over



June 13, 1939. R w JONES 2,162,174

AUTOMATIC PROTECTOR AGAINST OVERHEATING AND LACK OF OIL OR QIL PRESSURE Filed July 11, 1958 IGNITION 7 /Z A fiwrrcu m 50 I L H1 57 3/ 32 '0 GN/ITCOIL -.E0y WJZnes,

INVENTOR BY myaww Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES AUTOMATIC PROTECTOR AGAINST ovER HEATING AND LACK OF OIL on on PRES- SURE Roy W. Jones, Hialeah, Fla. Application July 11, 1938, Serial No. 218,665

5 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic protective means for internal combustion engines and it has more particularly to do with a special provision for stopping operation of an automotive 5 gasolene engine or other internal combustion motor similarly equipped, in case of overheating or dangerous loss of oil or oil pressure, whereby .to prevent damage to the engine.

' The prime object of the invention is to produce a simple yet practical and efdclent electrically operated system which is readily installed in connection with the engine operating and controlling equipment on an automobile or in connection with any other engine instailation without material alteration in the regular operating and controlling equipment and to attain other particular objects and advantages as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The invention consists in the novel general ar-.

vehicle, a fragmentary portion of the engine block being shown and designated generally by the numeral l. Shown more or less conventionally with the engine block is the usual manifold 2 through which the fuel is drawn into the engine during operation from the carburetor 3 Other than the three parts just enumerated, no further illustration of the engine and directly associated parts are illustrated. Suflice it to say that the 40 engine may be of any internal combustion type whereby suction is created in the fuel intake manifold during the operation of the engine, as this enters into the present invention as will later more fully appear, and that the ignition system 45 includes the usual ignition coil (not shown) andan electrical circuit which is of the usual general character and including a manually operable switch which may be utilized in the regular way and also in special correlation with certain of 50 the elements included in the system of the present invention.

As' shown in the diagram, the ignition switch, designated by the numeral 4, is provided with a circuit breaking element (not shown) which is operated by a rotatable element indicated conventionally, as at 5, said element 5 being provided with a suitable opening 6 for the reception of a isey by which it may be rotated manually in the usual manner.

l s thus far described, the switch ii controls the ignition circuit in the regular way and it is here noted that the switch is connected at one side to a wire i leading through an ammeter t to one pole of which is grounded, as at id. From the opposite side of the switch 6, a wire ii leads to the usual ignition coil (not shown) which. iatter is obviously connected to the usual distributor for the respective spark plugs, it being, or course, understood that the circuit is grounded in the usual manner beyond the spark plugs.

in one practical adaptation of the present invention, provision is made for directly operating the rotatable element 5 of the ignition switch 4 to break the circuit through the wires 1 and ii to automatically stop operation of the engine upon an undue increase in temperature or dangerous decrease in the supply or pressure of the lubricating oil as will now be set forth with particularity. As shown, the rotatable element 5 of the switch t has one end portion of a connecting rod 92 plvotally attached thereto with crank-like efiect at one side of its axis, as at 43, the opposite end of said rod 62 being pivotally attached to a rocking lever it, which latter is operably connected, as at 25, to a solenoid bar i6 working in the coil il. Normally, with the coil il deenergized, the rotatable switch element 5 is free to be actuated by application or the key'in the slot 6 provided therefor to either open or close the switch, at will, the solenoid bar It being accordingly moved inward or outward in the coil ll, as the case may be, by the lever and rod connection with the elementE. In this connection, it is noted that for the purpose of illustration the element 5 of the switch is rotated clockwise to close the ignition circuit and counter-clockwise to break the circuit. Hence, when the solenoid coil I1 is energized and the bar i8 thereby retracted, the connection of the rod l2 with the element 5 is such that the iatter is rotated in the direction to break the circuit.

As the energization of the solenoid coil I1 is governed by the relative temperature of the engine and also by the quantity-of the lubricating oil supply, a heat indicator is and an oil indicator I9 are provided, said indicators being conventionally shown in the drawing, and, in practice, being preferably located on the instrument board of the vehicle in sight of the driver. The indicator I3 is provided with a movable pointer 20 and the indicator 19 with a similar pointer 2i, said pointers being each connected to a circuit wire 22, which is grounded, as at 23.

In the illustration, the heat indicator i3 is pro-- ate. scale a on the dial oi the latter indicator and moves into with an electrical terminal stop 21 which is correlated to the graduation on the scale 23 which is indicative of a minimum degree of oil pressure or a minimum levelfoi theo'il supply, as the case may be. The respec tive stop terminals 23 a'ud2l are connected, as at '23 and 21', to a circuit wire 23 which is in turn connected to one end of the solenoid coil II, as at 23, The circuit in which the solenoid coil i1 is located-is completed by a wire 33 which leads from the opposite end of the coil to a stationary terminal contact 3i with which a movable contact 32 is engaged and disengaged as will be presently described. The said movable contact 32 is connected by a'wire- 33 to the ammeter 3 which latter, as hereinbefore described in connection with the ignition circuit, is connected to one pole of the battery 3, the omosite pole of whichis grounded, asat Ill.

' Normally. when the engine I is not operating,

the stationary-contact 3|, thereby closing that the movable contact" 32 is out of engagement with the stationary contact 3l and the circuit tor the solenoid coil i1 is. therefore broken. However,

as will be presently more fully described, the movable contact 32 is vmoved into engagement with part of the circuit between the solenoid coil l1 and the battery or source of electrical energy 3.

At this timeportion of the. solenoid circuit between the coil [:1 and the ground 23 through below a safe thefpointersll and 21' the respective indicators l3 and ilm'ay'or may 1 not be broken, depending upon of temperature or the oil"supply or its. Normally, with the oil supp y 91' above a predetermined minimum andtemp'erature ofthe indicators l3 and II are oiiithe refspective circuit terminal contacts .21 oc-i1 andtns solenoid circuit is obviously broken, at-which time-the 'iEnit-ion switch '3'mayzbe setmanually by application-of the regular-"key to close the ignition circuit and the engine placed in operation by acmating the starter (not shown) in the regular I way.

' The engine-will thus continue to operate until deliberately stopped'by the driver by opening the switch 3 manually or by other means under his control in the usual way or the 3 may be automatically actuated to break the ignition circuit by reason oi the herein above operative connection between the switch element 6 3 and solenoidbar l3 should oil or heat trouble develop and cause the solenoid circuit to be closed by the engagement of the pointer ofeither indicator l8 or [3 with the circuit terminal con tact thereof.

' An essential feature of the present invention is the provision of means operatively connected and controlled by and with the operation of the engine for automatically moving the movable cir- I being preferably made for a delayed operation of the vacuum device for a period of a few seconds after starting operation'of the engine and until a definite oil pressure is built up in the lubricating system for the engine before engagement of the contacts and 32 is eflected and at the same time said vacuum device operates quickly to release the contact 32 'irom the contact 3| when operation of the engineis stopped. 'As shown more or less-conventionally in the drawing, the vacuum device comprises a hollow cylindrical body 33 which is connected by a hollow nipple extension-33 communicably with the fuel'intake maniiold 2. The hollow body 33 aflords a-vacuum chamber which is closed by a diaphragm 36 which may have suflicient inherent resiliency and set to normally urge its central'portion outwardly, or. as shown, a supplemental spring element- 31 may be provided between the diaphragm and the oppo'sedwall of,.the body 33 to urge the dialatter is pivotally mounted at one end, .as at 3|, 7

and carries at its opposite end-said movable con tact 32. which is suitably insulated therefrom.

Normally, when the engine is not operating, the outwardly urged diaphragm 33, through-the connection." with the rock-lever 30, holds the movable-contact 32 away from the stationary contact 3|, but afterthe engine is in operation the vacuum created in the chamber of the device 33, due to thesuction in the fuel intake manifold 2, causes the diaphragm tomove inwardly under the external atmospheric pressure ,and vthe encontact-3|, the plunger stem 38 is provided with an axial'bore 32in its-inner end portion which opens normally into the vacuum chamber of the body 33, said axial bore 32 having a restricted Y lateral port 33 open to the atmosphere outside oi the diaphragm 36. Mounted on a supporting yoke 33 within the vacuum chamber of the body 33 is a valve head 33 which is opposed axially and in normally spaced relation to the inner end of the axial bore 32 of the plunger stem 33, by which provision a limited quantity of the outside air is drawn into the vacuum chamber" until the suction in the fuel intake manifold increases after the engine has started to operate suiliciently to build up a partial vacuum in the chamber of the body 33 so that the diaphragm 33 moves inwardly but with delay, the inward movementof the diaphragm continuing until the inner end portion of the plunger stem is arrested by its engagement with the valve head 3i, whereupon further inward movement is prevented and the communication with the outside 1 air is cut and sufllcient vacuum is maintained in the chamber to hold the contact 32 in engagement with the contact ll. It is, of course, understood that the area ofthe restricted port 43 is predetermined for the effect of the delayed operation of the movable contact 32, as and tor the purpose described, and that there is ample provision obviously made to assure the proper electrical engagement of the contact 32 with the contact 3| and at the same time afi'ord an effective closing otthe passageway through the bore 42 when the inner end of the plunger stem 38 is arrested in' its inward movement by engagement with the valve head 45. Instead of providing for the automatic operation of the ignition switch by means of the solenoid in the heat and oil indicator circuit and including the respective connecting elements between the solenoid bar l6 and the rotatable switch element 5, as shown in the accompanying drawing, that particular type of switch and automatic operating elements may be eliminated and in place of the switch 4 another conventional type of ignition switch may be substituted, said substitute switch being obviously opened and closed solely by manual manipulation, while in place of the solenoid and operating connections as with the switch 4, a simple circuit breaker or relay switch may be provided directly in the ignition circuit. That is to say, it is, obviously, only necessary to incorporate in the ignition circuit a normally closed relay type switch the electromagnet of which is substituted in the system in place of the solenoid coil ll and connecting it between the wire 28 and the stationary circuit breaker terminal 3| by the wires 2% and 30.

With this modification the system 0)? the present invention operates withthe same effect as installations where the type of switch element t is employed and operated by the solenoid. In this connection it may be here also noted that the circuit breaking and controlling means may be further modified within the spirit of the inventlon as defined in the appended claims.

From the foregoing it is noted that an automatic protective system is provided which is readily applied in connection with the installation of automotive internal combustion engines,

or engines similarly equipped and installed for other uses so as to automatically stop operation of the engine in case of overheating or loss of oil or oil pressure and thereby prevent damage to the engine which might otherwise occurdue to the neglect of the driver to observe and respond to instrumental indications of the contingency. By the present invention, not only is stopping of the engine accomplished automatically but the heat and oil indicators may be also conveniently located on the instrument board in view of the driver so that he may observe the indications of rise of temperature and loss of oil or oil pressure and that in the event the driver falls to notethe indication before the engine stops operating, he may, upon cessation of operation note the cause from the reading on the indicator or indicators and not attempt to start the engine again until the trouble has been rectified. There is a. particular advantage in the switch and separate circuit breaker are provided in the ignition circuit, particularly as the engine will not ordinarily start again automatically but has to be started by means of the regular starting device, and should the driver again start the engine without observing the indicators on the instrument board or heeding the warning by the stoppage of operation, the restarted engine will operate for only a few moments and again stop automatically through the same instrumcntality Wh'ich'first caused it to stop. There is a still further advantage in providing the circuit terminal elements 3| and 32, one of which is movable with-respect to the other and auto-' matlcally controlled by the operation of the 'engine and provided with means for delaying the closing of the circuit by the engagement of the movable contact with the stationary contact so that sufijcient oil pressure is produced in the lubricating system to lift the pointer 2i" off the circuit terminal stop 21 before the circuit, for the soleno d coil ll or the magnet of an equivalent switch. as the case may be, can be closed to effect the breaking of the ignition circuit, by which provision automatic stopping of operation of the engine does not occur unless the temperature is raised or the oil supply is lost or reduced in pressure during operation of the engine;

What is claimed is:

i. In a protective system for operating internal combustion engines, a regular ignition circuit including a manually operable switch for opening and closing the circuit, at will, electrically operated supplemental means for breaking the ignition circuit, said supplemental circuit breaking means having a separate operating circuit and a circuit breaker in its circuit normally open when the engine is not operating but being automatically closed with relayed action by the effect of the operation of the engine, a

temperature and/or lubricant indicator or indicaters for the engine, and normally open circuit closing means on said indicator or indicators for automatically closing the operating circuit of the supplemental circuit breaking means tor the ignition circuit upon the occurrence of an abnormai condition in the engine translated through said indicator or indicators.

2. In a protective system for operating internal combustion engines, a regular ignition circuit including a manually operable switch for opening and closing the circuit, at will, visible temperature and lubricant indicators for translating the temperature of the engine and the condition of its lubricating system during operation, an electrically operated and controlled circuit breaker for the circuit of the ignition system, said last named circuit breaking'means of the ignition circuit having a separate normally open operating circuit and circuit closing means correlated with and operated by said temperature and lubricant indicators for closing the circuit upon the occurrence of a predetermined abnormal degree of temperature and/or condition of the lubricating system during operation of the engine, and an additional circuit closure in the operating circuit of the-circuit breaking means of the ignition circuit normally open when the engine is not operating but being automatically closed with delayed action by operation of the engine.

3. In a protective system for operating internal combustion engines, a regular ignition circuit for the engine including a manually operable switch for opening and closing the circuit,

at wll, a solenoid having a conneotim with said switch for automatically actuating-it to break the ignition circuit, the operating and controlling circuit for the solenoid being normally broken and including a circuit closure correlated.

with and operated by an operating condition indicator for the engine whereby to close the circult upon the occurrence of a predetermined ah- I normal condition, a supplemental circuit closure for said solenoid circuit normally open when the engine is not operating, and means for automatically closing said last-named circuit closure when the engine is operated, said means comprising a vacuum device operablyconnected to saidcircuit closure and having a communicable suction connection with the intake manifold of the engine.

4. In a protective system toroperating inter- 4 .nalcombustion engines, -a regular ignition circult for the engine including a manually opersure for said solenoid circuit normally open when the engine is not operating, and means for automatically closing said last-named circuit closure when the engine is operated, said means comprising a vacuum device operably connected to said circuit closure ,and having a communicable-suction connection with the intake maniiold oi the engine, said vacuum device having provision for delaying its eiiective operation in closing said circuit breaker at the beginning of operation of the engine.

5. Automatic protective means for internal combustion engina comprising, in combination with the electrical circuit of a regular ignition system for operating the engine, an; electrically operated circuit breaking switch for the ignition circuit having an operating circuit separate from the ignition circuit proper, a circuit breaker in the operating circuit for said switch oi the ignition circuit proper, delayed action operating means actuated by the operation of the engine for closing said circuit breaker in the operating circuit of, said'switch oi the ignition circuit proper, and an operating condition indicator ior the engine provided with normally open circuit closing means in the operating circuit; of said switch of the ignition circuit proper, said circuit closing means of the condition indicator operating to automatically close the operating circuit of said switch upon the occurrence of a predetermined abnormal operating condition of the engine translated through said indicator.

ROY w. dorms.- 

